U of A: No T-Shirt Launcher At Saturday’s Hogs Game

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The University of Arkansas will not use a T-shirt launcher at the football game on Saturday in Fayetteville between the Razorbacks and the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.

“The launcher will not be used this weekend, and there are currently no plans in place to use the launcher in events in the immediate future,” Kevin Trainor, associate athletic director of public relations, told 5NEWS on Tuesday (Sept. 10).

In the season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette on Aug. 31, an intern in the school’s marketing department was hospitalized with a leg injury after a T-shirt launcher exploded from the heat at Razorback Stadium, officials said. The intern was treated and released from a local hospital following surgery, according to the university.

The launcher that malfunctioned was the single-shot gun that uses pressurized air from a tank to propel T-shirts into the crowd, officials said.

Some students say it may be worth it to not have the launcher this weekend, while others believe it was maybe a one-time accident.

Sot Leonzo Vazquez, student (9)

“I mean it’s kind of disappointing that you can’t get a t-shirt, but hey, there’s plenty of chances to get a free t-shirt,” Leonzo Vazquez. “If it saves somebody from getting hurt again, I guess that’s the better alternative.”

Blake Mertens said, “I don’t think it’s a big deal if they have t-shirt launchers, I don’t know maybe they should have some type of safety check on it or something. I think it was just a freak accident. I think it’ll be OK if they still have that.”

Students believe that fans will be rooting on the Hogs, all the same.

“I think the fans are just going to be just as excited as ever, really,” Hayley Drew said.